Ravens Fly to Europe for Basketball Tour

Byline: By Ben Gluckman, Sports Information Director

Posted: July 12, 2012

Justin Chaney (Jr., Williamstown, NJ) and recent graduate Harrison Carsillo '12 (Collingswood, NJ) were fortunate to represent Rosemont College on the US Athletes International, Inc. (USAAI) basketball team’s tour of London, Paris, and Amsterdam this summer. The two Ravens were part of a team comprised of ten athletes who hailed from various areas of the United States between May 27 and June 5.

The team was comprised of student-athletes who were nominated by their coaches and awarded spots on the team by USAAI. The team finished their tour of Europe with a record of four wins and one loss against club teams in the three visited cities.

The team flew into London where they stayed for three days. In addition to roundball games, Chaney said that he “enjoyed London a lot!” The two Ravens made sure that they sampled fish and chips in a pub and also took advantage of the opportunity to do some sightseeing at the Tower Bridge, the Houses of Parliament, and the London Eye.

The team took the train through the Chunnel to Paris, where they stayed for four days. While there the team lost their lone game of the tour. To cheer themselves in the capital of France the players toured the Louvre, went to the top of the Eiffel Tower, strolled along the Champs-Elysees and visited Notre Dame. According to Chaney, while in Paris, “we ate a lot of pasta and pizza,” apparently preferring Italian food to the local French cuisine on offer.

Finally, the team rode six hours in a bus to arrive at the last city on the tour, Amsterdam. While there the team was treated to a cookout hosted by a local Dutch family. For local flavor the Ravens couldn’t down the local specialty of raw smoked herring covered with onions, but they did enjoy experiencing Amsterdam and also the windmills outside of the city.

“The people there showed us great hospitality after the game, asking for autographs and hanging out with us.”

The lasting impressions from the basketball tour, according to Chaney were the “new friendships from our teammates. We still communicate with each other all of the time. It was interesting to compare the differences in our culture to the other countries. It was also a challenge for us to get used to playing the International version of basketball and the way that the referees call games there. It is very different from what we’re used to in the U.S!”